While Miesha Tate isn’t overreacting to her victory over Ronda Rousey in the cover vote for the new “EA Sports UFC” video game, the women’s bantamweight contender does believes the result is a reflection of Rousey’s public persona.

“I think a lot of people have been turned off by Ronda’s poor sportsmanship and just the overall negative attitude on ‘The Ultimate Fighter,'” Tate told MMAjunkie on Monday. “I think she’s been kind of exposed.”

As announced on Monday, Tate (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) narrowly edged the current women’s bantamweight champion in the first round of fan voting for a cover spot next to 205-pound champ Jon Jones on the upcoming video game.

Few, including Tate, expected “Cupcake” to receive more support than one of the sport’s most notable figures, which is why she was overjoyed when the news came to light.

“I was absolutely ecstatic,” Tate said. “I didn’t expect to win, but I was full of hope. I knew that Ronda was in the lead, and I was just like, ‘Man, she has double the followers I do on Twitter. She’s probably going to win.’ But I didn’t want to give up hope … I couldn’t be more thankful. It felt really great, so I’m ecstatic.”

Many are wondering if the result was a consequence of Tate’s rise in popularity, or possibly because fans turned on Rousey (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC). While the 27-year-old believes it is a combination of both factors, Tate also believes if the vote were to take place before “TUF,” she would have suffered a landslide defeat.

“Honestly, I think that she would have [won before the reality show],” Tate said. “I think people were under this kind of sentiment that Ronda Rousey can do no wrong and she’s the princess of MMA, she’s the golden girl, she’s the Olympian, she’s the blond-haired, blue-eyed all-American perfect girl and she has the full support of the UFC.

“Everyone has gotten to see the Ronda Rousey that I haven’t got along with for a long time.”

Tate has been vocal about Rousey’s actions on “TUF” since the show debuted a few months ago, and she believes the portrayals of Rousey and herself have been accurate.

The Washington native says she is pleased with how she’s come across and believes fans warming to her and souring on Rousey has a direct correlation with the show providing deeper insight into their personalities.

“Getting on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ has been one of the best things for myself just because I’ve gotten a voice,” Tate said. “I’ve been able to show my personality a little bit, and I’ve had more of an outlet to express myself versus just Ronda.”

“It was kind of unequal balance, and with ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ it has been more equal, and people are seeing more of her side of the story and a lot more of my side of the story. I think people are making their decisions [to vote] based off that.”

Tate’s video game victory over Rousey adds another layer to the complicated and storied rivalry between the two fighters. But even with that in mind, Tate doesn’t intend to rub Rousey’s nose in her win, though she knows deep down her foe is agitated over the situation.

“I’m sure she’s probably bitter about it already,” Tate said. “You can tell just by the way that she was upset when they lost the first fight on ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ you can imagine probably how she felt.

“I’m not going to go there. It wasn’t my goal to piss Ronda off again. It was my goal to better myself, and I would have done the same thing if I would have been going up against anybody. I would have handled it the same way as now. I’m not making this personal, and that’s the way that I’m handling it.”

While the news brings excitement to Tate, she’s still focused on the ultimate goal of defeating the former Olympic medalist for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship at UFC 168.

A little more than a month out from the fight, Tate is focused on the task at hand, but she also can’t help to think what it would mean to win the entire cover vote contest.

“[To win] would be a pretty incredible feat,” Tate said. “I’m really excited just to get past the first round, and with that being said, one of my biggest challenges is out of the way, and I’m excited to make the best run that I can to get on that cover.

“To have a woman on the cover would only make sense. Women’s MMA is taking MMA by storm, and we’re just really making waves, and there would be no better time to have female representation on the cover of the ‘EA Sports UFC’ game.”

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